The Untold Gem
by Skishy
Summary: It began as an ordinary mission: deliver a scroll and come home…NOT pickup some chick with a freaky, possessed piece of jewelry that would uncover a past that was supposed to be buried for good! There's also some Kakashi romance, mystery, humor, etc.
1. The Journey Begins

**Disclaimer: **_Unfortunately, I don't own "Naruto." …If I did, I would be one very, happy girl! _

**A/N:** _Wow! I can't believe that this is my FIRST fanfic! I wanted write something original, but it's hard to when there are so many good ideas out there that have already been put to paper…or became digital documents in this case! However, I assure you that I'm doing my best to keep this "one-of-a-kind," so please let me know what you think!...ENJOY!_

_Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank ShipperTrish for being my "FanFic-Sensei". She has been very kind-and extremely patient-with me and all my MANY questions. So, thank you! _

_Talk-at-ya later!_

_Skishy_

"What a drag!" one very bored, restless Uzumaki Naruto exclaimed to no one in particular as he and the rest of Team Seven impatiently awaited the presence of their ever-so-tardy sensei.

"You've been hanging around Shikamaru again, haven't you?" asked Sakura, irritation clearly in the tone of her voice and in the look on her face. "We are all tired of waiting for Kakashi–sensei, _but_ your wining is annoying Sasuke!" _Not to mention me, too! _ thought inner Sakura. She glanced in the said young man's direction only to have her gaze avoided. Uchiha Sasuke was one very rude, distant guy who seemed like he would rather throw kunai at you as to shake your hand. Haruno Sakura, however, was one love-sick kunoichi who seemed oblivious to the idea that Sasuke may never return her feelings or even acknowledge her worth to the team.

As Naruto was doing his best to defend himself to Sakura, the team's quarrel was interrupted by a single greeting of, "Yo."

"Kakashi-sensei! About time you showed up!" Naruto shouted with a smile on his face that was a mixture of frustration and relief—because now the conversation would go in another direction _instead_ of revolving around Sasuke. _Sakura always has to make him the center of attention. Honestly, what does she see in that guy?...He's so annoying! Believe it!_

"Sorry. I was on my way here when this turtle came up to me and asked me to help devise a plan to beat this rabbit he's racing in a couple of days. I came up with a sure way for him to win, but I had to repeat it several times because he's just a little _slow_."

"Liar!" all three of his students shouted in unison, well, Sasuke's reply was more like a loud, "Hmmph!" but the meaning was still implied. Yet, they would never own up to it, but they always did wonder what excuse their sensei would use next.

"What?" Kakashi asked innocently.

The team just sighed. After all, this was their sensei, the famous Copy Nin Hatake Kakashi—famous throughout the village for his _procrastination_ rather than the mysterious sharingan in his left eye.

"Well, are you guys coming? We have a long way to go before the day gets away from us." With that, Kakashi moved to the front of the group and headed out of Konoha.

_What?! He makes it sound like it's "our" fault if we're late delivering that stupid scroll! _Inner Sakura fumed as she took her travelling place between the two boys who were currently glaring at each other. _Ugh! Boys!_

The day came and went and the day and night after that as well. They really did have a long way to go before they reached their destination. However, late into the third day, signs of fatigue were beginning to show on the weary, less experienced travelers. Kakashi took notice of this and after some calculation, came to the conclusion that they were a little ahead of schedule and could afford to set up camp for the night—besides, that shady tree by the small lake was looking rather inviting. With the decision made, the group split up (well, sort of, Sakura made sure to stick to Sasuke like a flea to a dog and Naruto kept an eye on Sakura to make sure that she was safe from any foreign, enemy attacks). Kakashi just sighed and pulled out his trusty, well loved _Icha Icha Paradise_ and commenced reading the words that he already knew by heart.

As night fell, the three genin laid flat on their backs looking up at the sky.

"It's so beautiful! Don't you think so, Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she turned toward the motionless boy to her left.

"Hmmph" was the only reply Sasuke gave her.

"Well, I think no star or Ramen House Special could compare to you, Sakura," Naruto chimed in feeling quite proud of his smooth line that was sure to win Sakura away from Sasuke, although he may have fudged a little when it came to his beloved Ramen—but man, it sure did sound good when he said it!

"Huh, did you say something, Naruto?" Sakura asked, only partly acknowledging Naruto's presence.

_What?! She wasn't listening?! Oh, man! Now I can't remember what I said! _Defeated, Naruto continued to look towards the sky when something caught his eye; it was a small, reddish, storm cloud that seemed to roll in from no where and was rapidly increasing in size. "That's the funniest looking cloud I ever saw!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly to his comrades.

"You're right Naruto. I've never seen anything like that!" Sakura said, now fully aware that Naruto was indeed making a point to be heard by all. Even Sasuke took the time to humor them and directed his attention skyward.

Kakashi turned his attention to the cause of all the excitement. _That's no ordinary storm cloud. It reminds me of something in a story the Hokage told me when I was a boy; And if I remember correctly, something or someone could be popping out of that thing any minute! _"Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura! Don't let your guard down! Something is definitely not right here!" With that, everyone immediately armed themselves and took cover beneath the protective branches of the sturdy, old tree. All that they could do now was to simply watch and wait for _whatever_ or _whoever_ was about to make their grand debut.

_**TBC…**_

**A/N:** _Well, what do you think so far? Your thoughts and comments are very much appreciated! Please review! _

_P.S. Remember, this is my FIRST fanfic. Please let me know if the characters seem believable. That is always something important that I look for in the fanfic I read. Also, ideas are welcome!_

_P.S.S. Thanks again for reading my story!_

_P.S.S.S. Kakashi rules!!...Sorry, just had to get that out there! _


	2. The Visitor

**DISCLAIMER: **_Nope. STILL don't own "Naruto." …(sighs)…_

No one dared move from beneath the shelter and protection of the ancient tree. Instead, they each readied themselves for whatever was about to transpire. All eyes watched in amazement and trepidation as the reddish, storm cloud grew more violent. Slowly, the middle of it began to take on several distinct shapes—they were of people.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's going on?" asked a very concerned and wide eyed Sakura.

"I'm not sure, Sakura. Just be ready to move when I give the signal," Kakashi replied in a hushed tone that was filled with all seriousness and command.

"We understand," said Sakura, however inner Sakura was not sounding so confident right then. The other two nodded in agreement, yet she was pretty sure that she could hear Naruto give a big gulp while getting in his fighting stance.

Meanwhile, the shapes within the cloud were moving and seemed to be crashing into one another at a fast speed.

_It's almost like they're…fighting. _thought Kakashi as he looked on, judging what the team's next move should be. Suddenly, the smallest shape seemed to whack the bigger shapes with something equal to the size of his large, travelling backpack. Kakashi could not help but admire the little shape for holding its own against such unfair odds. At that moment, one of the larger shapes lashed out and knocked the smaller one literally out of the cloud! The object that the little figure used for protection crashed through the old tree's branches and landed only a few feet away from where the team stood. _Well, what do you know! It was a backpack! _thought Kakashi as he signaled for his students move out and seek a new shelter—free from hurling luggage.

No sooner had Kakashi and his team went on the move, Kakashi stole the opportunity to see the smaller shape clearly for the first time—granted, it was falling towards the lake at a rapid speed, but it was clear that the figure was a girl.

_Splash!_

The other three larger shapes dove in after the girl.

"We have to do something, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto cried out and began to make his way in the direction of the lake. "Three against one is so not fair and besides, I don't think that she can swim! Believe it!"

Kakashi reached out just in time to grab Naruto by the arm, causing him to come to a complete stop. "It's still too early to rush in there, Naruto. We need to assess the situation before we act. We don't know what those other guys are capable of. Use your head." With that, Naruto reluctantly nodded his head and stood by only to watch the larger shapes, whom were now clearly ninja of some sort, retrieve the frightened and slightly waterlogged girl from the lake. As 

they drew near the location of the hidden group of curious ninja, the words, "We finally found you!" and "Don't fight us. You'll only make matters worse—not only yourself, but for us as well!" were becoming clearer to hear.

_Well, it's apparent that they must be working for someone, but who and what do they want with that girl? There's nothing notably significant about her—except for the unusual way that she dresses. She's definitely not from around here. Yet, she doesn't seem to be much of a threat. Of course, looks can be deceiving! _thought Kakashi as he carefully planned a counter attack. Whoever that girl was, it was perfectly clear that she did not want go with those creeps.

"Let me go! I've already told you that I don't know what you're talking about and that you've got the wrong girl! LET…ME…GO!" the soaked, half-drowned girl cried out angrily as she did her best to get away. However, her efforts were all in vain as she clearly did not have the strength to fight them off any longer.

During the futile struggle, something odd around the young girl's neck caught Kakashi's attention; it was a most peculiar necklace that appeared to be giving off some sort of red, glowing energy. The more she fought for her life, the brighter the glow.

"Don't play dumb, girly! We know you know! Now give us what we want!" With that, one of the girl's attackers reached for that peculiar necklace. As she struggled to get free from the iron grasp that bound her there, the man clasped his hand around the gem and commenced to give it a hard tug, attempting to break it free from the chain—only to have a very rude awakening. No sooner had he given a hard yank, tremendous bolt of that same red energy flowed from the gem to the man, and throughout his body. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Make it stop!" cried the man, as he desperately tried to release the reason for his pain.

The other two immediately released the girl in fear that they would be next. The young girl appeared to be a bit startled herself and tumbled backward only to land in a couple of strong, powerful arms. Stunned, she looked over her shoulder only to come face-to-face with a tall, silver-haired, masked man with only one eye. Before she could ask him who _he_ was, the mysterious figure whispered, "Hold on tight," and _POOF!_ The two disappeared from the spot that they once stood and reappeared high on a tree branch with the rest of Team Seven.

"Oh my God!" shouted the frightened girl as she desperately clung to the masked man. "I'm gonna die! I know it!"

"Not while we're here," Kakashi reassured the spastic girl. "Naruto, Sasuke, come with me. But try not to hurt them too much. We still need information from them. Sakura, attend to _her_," as he motioned to his newly acquired leach. With that, he pried her hands off of him and placed them around Sakura instead. Then, the three of them were off.

_**TBC…**_

**A/N: **_So, have I caught your attention yet?...(smirks deviously). Bet you're wondering about that necklace…aren't ya! ;) As ShipperTrish once said__"It's better than pepper spray!"_


	3. Questions

**DISCLAIMER: **_Now, we've been through this already…DON'T OWN NARUTO!...Just STILL wishing that I did! ;)_

"Why _me_?!" shouted the trembling girl. "I'm a good person! I pay my taxes! I don't drink or do drugs!...Well, there was this one time…but it never happened again!" The poor girl was going into hysterics! It was all Sakura could do to keep them both from falling out of the tree!

_Hurry up you guys! I don't know how much more of this I can take before "I" throw her out the tree myself! _inner Sakura thought irritably.

Meanwhile, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto went head-to-head with the enemy ninja. The one who received his "rude awakening" was stumbling to his feet only to be knocked back down with one swift kick from Naruto. "Where do you think you're going?" shouted Naruto as he commenced to tie-up the stunned man. "You're not getting away that easy! Believe it!"

Looking back over his shoulder and noting that Naruto had captured the man whom most likely held the answers to their questions, Kakashi turned to Sasuke and gave him "the nod." The other two ninja were no longer any use to them and could be disposed of. The kid gloves were off.

Kunai and other weapons flew through the air with deadly intent. However, each ninja skillfully evaded the other's attacks. After several failed attempts, it was clear that long-range attacks were simply not cutting it. _If I could just get close enough…_ Kakashi began to strategize. Even Sasuke was finding it a little difficult to get close to his target.

"Don't interfere!" Kakashi's opponent yelled in a harsh, ruthless tone. "You have no place here."

"On the contrary," Kakashi countered in his calm, cool way, "my place is between you and that girl." With that, he made a series of hand signs and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Never letting his guard down for a minute, the man prepared himself for any attacks coming from the front, back, sides, and above—no way would Kakashi break through his defenses. Then suddenly, the ground beneath his feet gave way and he soon found himself at the mercy of one intimidating Copy Nin.

Sasuke found himself advancing on his opponent as well. The man that he was facing seemed a little distracted by the position his colleagues were in—Sasuke used this to his advantage. While the man chanced a glance in the direction of Naruto's prisoner, Sasuke threw a kunai infused with his Fireball-Jutsu at the unsuspecting ninja. This attack caught the man off-guard because, let us face it, who would have thought a genin capable of such an attack? He ducked to the right, only to have the flaming kunai pierce his left shoulder. This event, in turn, caused the man's clothing to catch on fire!

"Ahhhhhhhh!" the man cried out in pain as he made a mad dash towards the lake. A slight smirk appeared on Sasuke's face as he admired his handiwork. He began to give chase when Kakashi called for him to let the guy go.

"We have what we need," Kakashi stated flatly as he motioned to the two men that were now tied together in a pile on the ground.

"Hmmph," Sasuke replied as he listened to a large _SPLASH!_ in the distance. "And I was just starting to have fun."

"Alright, let's get down to business shall we? Sakura, please escort the young lady down here so that we can have a friendly, little chat," Kakashi said as he eyed the two men suspiciously. Shortly after, Sakura appeared with the distraught, young woman at her side. "Now then, since we are all together, why don't you tell us what this whole thing is about," Kakashi calmly spoke in the direction of the two ninja.

"We have our orders," one of them said. "Commencing in idle chit-chat with you is not part of them." With that, the man spit at Kakashi's feet. Kakashi quickly stepped to the side and reached for collar of the man's shirt. As Kakashi was confronting the guy about how impolite that was and how next time he did that he would not have a mouth to spit from, the second man seized the opportunity. With all eyes now on his friend and Kakashi, he began to roll something long, sharp, and deadly around on his tongue until it lined-up perfectly with the girl, giving him a clear shot. While everyone was still distracted by the verbal lashing Kakashi and the first man were consumed in, the second man made his move. He projected the object from his mouth at such speed that no one had the time to react—just as he had planned it. The long, needle jabbed the girl in the neck. Everyone watched in horror as she began to shake, her eyes rolled back, and she fell motionless into Sakura's arms.

"You'll pay for that!" Kakashi yelled and made a lunge for her attacker. However, at the moment of impact, the man and his companion disappeared only to leave behind two medium sized logs. "Damn it! Substitution-Jutsu! Sasuke, Naruto, stay on guard!" With that, he rushed over to the girl who now lay unconscious in Sakura's arms. He quickly, yet carefully, removed the needle from her neck and examined it closely. It appeared to have one end dipped in some sort of poison.

"Will she be alright, Kakashi-sensei?" asked a terrified Sakura—who was now feeling quite guilty for wanting to push her out of the tree earlier.

"I believe so. The poison on the end of this needle isn't a strong dose," Kakashi answered his young pupil, yet concern was still clearly evident in the tone of his voice. "It appears it was meant to immobilize rather than kill. The enemy may be hoping that this will slow us down long enough for them to return here with reinforcements. But I didn't recognize the symbol on their headbands. They're clearly not from one of the neighboring villages closest to us. We should have at least a few days before they return."

"But sensei! If there's poison on the end of that thing and the guy had it in his mouth, wouldn't it have poisoned him too?" Naruto asked quite confused by the current events.

"Not if he had exposed himself to small amounts over a long period of time. His body would gradually build-up a resistance to the poison thus, causing it to become relatively harmless to him." With that being said, Kakashi took the girl in his arms and signaled for the rest of them to follow him back to their campsite to seek shelter from the storm that was about add to their already "not so appealing" situation.

Back at their campsite, Kakashi laid the girl down in the place where he was supposed to sleep. After an attempt to make her more comfortable, he took this opportunity to sit back to have his first, good look at her. He assumed that she had to be in her twenties. She had below shoulder-length hair that was reddish-brown in color. If he remembered correctly, her eyes were a deep brown and full of expression. Her clothes, still soaked from her "swim" in the lake earlier, were odd. She wore a rough pants material (blue-jeans) with a black, leather belt and a black, sleeveless shirt that rested just above her beltline. This was accompanied by a bright pink over-shirt with buttons that were not fastened. At her feet were sandals of some kind and she wore a ring on each middle finger and one on her left thumb. Simple bracelets wrapped around her dainty wrists. Her ears were pierced twice at the bottom and once at the top of her left ear. Silver hoops of different sizes flattered her small ears. _I wonder who this girl is and where'd she come from? _Kakashi pondered on this for a while until a soft, pulsing glow caught his attention. _I almost forgot…that necklace! Now's my chance to get a better look at it. _Being ever so careful as to not end-up like the last guy who touched that odd, glowing gem, Kakashi bent down to closely to examine it. The gem was an oval shape. It had a smooth surface up until you reached the bottom where a small piece of it was missing. _That's odd. It's_ _radiating a yellowish color, but there's no obvious source for the energy…Wait, wasn't it glowing "red" earlier? _

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted by Sasuke's question as to what to do about their previous mission; after all, it was not yet completed. Kakashi thought for a moment before he removed the summoning scroll for his ninja dogs from his vest pocket. He then took a kunai from the holster on his right leg and cut his thumb just deep enough to serve its purpose. Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke watched as Kakashi performed a serious of hand signs, slid his cut thumb down the middle of the now opened scroll leaving a long trail of fresh blood and _POOF! _Now, sitting in front of them was one of the smallest and most trusted members of the pack, Pakkun, the ninja pug. Pakkun looked at his master, then at everyone else, and at the unconscious girl before him, and awaited his orders.

"Pakkun, I need you to finish delivering this scroll before 3:00 tomorrow afternoon," Kakashi said as he presented the pug with the scroll in question while taking out a blank one and began writing something on it. "I also want you to deliver this scroll explaining why the mission wasn't carried out in person. We're counting on you…there might even be an issue of _Fido's Paradise_ in it for you when you get back." Kakashi was clearly smirking behind his mask after adding the last part for good measure; the eye crease was definitely a dead-giveaway.

Being a little more reserved about such things than his master, Pakkun simply bowed his head, took the scrolls, and hurriedly went on his way. Everyone watched till they could no longer see him in the distance and then all eyes returned to Kakashi. "Well, with that taken care of, and since there is no longer any sign of those three ninja, we will stay here until she's able to travel again. Sasuke, Naruto, please catch something for dinner from the lake. Sakura, we could use some firewood and fresh drinking water. I have a feeling we're in for a long night." With the decision of what next to do made, everyone raced off to complete their tasks while there was still some precious daylight left and before the rain would begin. _Now, about you. _Kakashi's thoughts returned to the girl. He gently covered her shivering body with his own sleeping bag. Once he was satisfied that she should be warm enough, his gaze lingered on her sleeping form. _I wish we knew more about you. Wait! _he thought as he remembered something. _The backpack! If you want to get to know someone, what better way than to go through the contents of their luggage? _With that, Kakashi retrieved the said backpack, returned to her side, and began his search for answers.

The first item that he removed from the bag was nothing really of any value. It was just a plain hair brush. The second item was a small device with the letters "M P 3" written on the side. The third was a small digital camera that was still docked on its matching printer. The fourth was a box of tissues. The fifth and so on were items of no real significance. It was not until he neared the bottom of the bag when he came across a small, black box in the right-hand corner. He picked it up and realized it was a box that you would put a single piece of jewelry in. Slowly, he opened it only to find a beautiful, white gold, diamond ring. _That's an engagement ring. But why wouldn't she be wearing it on her finger rather than discarding it like this? It looks as if it has barely been worn._ He closed the box and began to place the miscellaneous items back where he had found them when he noticed a hidden compartment on the left, inner side of the bag. He pulled the zipper down and removed a small, leather journal that was bound by a simple ribbon. _Finally, something that may help us understand what we've stumbled into._ Kakashi untied the ribbon and opened the book to the first page. There, he found a passage that held the answer to how everything began.

_**TBC…**_

**A/N: **_Time to give credit when it's due! The sentence about the best way to get to know someone is by going through stuff came from "The Incredibles"-reworded of course…LOVE that movie! Oh, and the idea and explanation for the poison not harming the enemy ninja came from a "Sherlock Holmes" story…one of my favorites to read!...Next to fanfic, of course! ;)_

_So, have I got ya wondering about the ring?...GOOD! _


	4. Answers

**DISCLAIMER: **_"Naruto," "Naruto," if only I owned you, "Naruto." (sadly sighs)_

As Kakashi opened the journal, his eye came to rest on the first entry. It read:

_I've decided to keep a journal of all that's happened and what will be since the day that our little outing went so…wrong! If I record everything, then--just maybe--we'll be able to figure out what's happening to me._

Kakashi looked up from his reading and his gaze lingered on the sleeping form beside him. _What could've happened to you?_ He noticed the perspiration beginning to appear on her face. He took his hand and gently placed it upon her flushed skin. The heat immediately engulfed the coolness of his touch; her body was now trying to fight-off the oncoming fever. Reaching for his backpack that lay discarded on his other side, he rummaged through the small, front compartment. He removed a slightly tattered cloth and his canteen. Removing the lid, he poured what little, cold liquid over the cloth. He wrung out the excess water, folded it in half, and placed it on her forehead where his touch once was. Upon contact, he could see her body begin to ease up and her color begin to soften. Convinced that he could do no more for now, he returned to his search for answers.

_It was the day that changed everything. It began with Shawn FINALLY agreeing to go to the Antique Auction with me…he never could resist the puppy dog eyes! But now, I badly wish he had. For it was there that I found "it"…or "it" found me. I know that sounds weird, but I swear it's like it has a mind of its own! _

_When we got there, everyone was given the opportunity to checkout the merchandise before they started the bidding. After literally dragging Shawn through the first few tables of nick-knacks, he wanted to step outside to make a call, leaving me by myself…like always. After he left, I started to move to the next table when something caught my eye…the necklace. I picked it up to get a better look. I carefully ran my fingertip over the smooth surface until I reached a place at the bottom of it that was chipped. No sooner had I touched it, a swirl of different colors began in the middle of the stone and rapidly spread throughout it…and then, outside of it! I swear the thing started glowing! And after that started happening, you better believe I started dropping! As soon as I let it go, the "glowing" stopped. At first, I thought it was just the lights above that made me "think" it was glowing; ya know, kinda like how the "fire" in an opal shines when held in the light? My second thought was that it could've been my eyes playing tricks on me. Heck, it could've even that indistinguishable leftover I ate before coming here!…I really do need to cleanout the fridge more often. _

_But, it wasn't until this strange, old man approached me that things got a little weirder. He definitely wasn't from around here. He wore this big, flowy robe and wooden sandals that made a clacking noise when he walked. His face was partly hidden by a hood, yet I was able to see that a long, jagged scar ran down his face. He also seemed to wearing some bandanna thing with a metal plate attached to it. _

At this, Kakashi's mind began to race, trying to find someone that he knew of that possibly matched this description. However, there were many elderly ninja that could pass for the mystery man…the others, Kakashi had already "dealt" at one time or another. With no real lead, he turned the page.

_He said that he noticed me looking at the necklace and insisted that it was "meant" to be worn by "me." My first thoughts were, "This is one freaky dude! Did he see what it did? Why is he persisting so that I should have it?" He then took the necklace from the table and presented it to me explaining that he was the owner of it and he'd changed his mind about auctioning it. "It chose you. It was 'meant' to be." …There was that word again! Right when I was about to object, Shawn called to me and I turned my head--only for a moment--and when I turned to face the old man again, he was gone! Vanished! But how? Under the "circumstances," I didn't feel right about taking the necklace and discretely placed it back on the table. No way was I going to bid on it now! In fact, I was so weirded out by the whole thing that I told Shawn that I wanted to go home… Needless to say, he didn't put up a fight to stay._

"Kakashi-sensei! Look at the fish that 'I'…

"Hmmph!"

"…I mean… 'we' caught!" Naruto proclaimed proudly. "Of course, 'I' did most of the work. Sasuke just stood around and threw kunai at them." Naruto then looked towards Sasuke only to meet his glare. "What?!" Naruto asked, trying to sound sincere with his question; in truth, he wanted to belittle Sasuke any chance that he got.

"Hmm? Oh, nice job guys. Now, why don't you two go help Sakura finish up and then start the fire. It'll rain soon and if it does, we can forget about cooking those fish." With that, Kakashi turned his attention back to the page and began reading the next passage.

"Loser," Sasuke said flatly as he turned in the direction Sakura should be and dashed off. Naruto just crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke's back before he too went to find their pink-haired companion.

"Kids," Kakashi mumbled as he found his place and continued reading.

_When we got home, I asked Shawn if he would like to come in for a little while…since our evening didn't go quite as planned. But, he said he'd pass and that he was going to head back to the lab and finish his experiment…sometimes, I think he loves his beakers more than ME! Well, after he left, I fixed some dinner and put in a movie. About halfway through, my cell phone rang. I hurriedly found my bag, reached in to pull it out, and to my shock, retrieved that necklace instead! I was dumbfounded!...and a bit creeped out!_

By this time, Kakashi was more confused than ever! He looked at the girl with sadness in his eye. "It sounds like you didn't have much of a choice in the matter, did you? I guess it was 'meant' to be." Those words never seemed so foreboding before. With that thought still lingering in the back of his mind, he turned the page.

_I tried calling Shawn, but there was no answer. So, I just sat there and looked at it. It was pretty…even if it was chipped. It seemed so ordinary now. There was no mysterious glow or creepy, old guys accompanying it. I began to wonder if I was going crazy! Then, I made the BIGGEST mistake of my life…I thought, "Well, since it's here, might as well try it on!" At first, it was difficult to find the latch on the chain. After a bit of fumbling, I finally unlatched it. I then took both ends, raised them to my neck and then under my hair, and put the two ends together. No sooner had the two ends connected, a wave, of what can only be described as energy of some kind, acted as a lightening bolt and surged through the room! This same energy travelled not only through the chain to the stone, but through ME! I've never felt anything like it! Imagine a flood of emotions coursing through your body spontaneously. It was too much for me. I fell to the floor and then…it was over. No more lightening; no more heightened sensations; there was just a feeling that…I wasn't alone. But most importantly…the necklace wouldn't come off!_

"Sensei! Dinner is almost done! You better hurry before Naruto eats your share!...He's eyeing your piece awfully suspiciously…and if I didn't know better, I'd think he's starting to drool!"

Kakashi just sighed for he knew that they were right. If he did not get there soon, all Naruto would leave him would barely be enough to feed Pakkun, let alone one starving Copy Nin. Stomach beginning to growl, Kakashi stood up, looked back at their "visitor" one last time, turned, and sprinted towards the others yelling, "Naruto! Drop that fish!…Or I'll cut Ramen out of your diet when we get home!"

"Kakashi-sensei! You wouldn't be that…that…CRUEL!...Would you?!" one clearly shocked and worried Naruto asked, all but dropping the fish into the fire.

"Don't push me," Kakashi warned, only "half" jokingly.

Kakashi was right. They were in for a long night. Soon after they finished dinner, the rain began. Dark, menacing, storm clouds poured icy rain hard upon the team's campsite. Their only protection against the harsh elements was the old tree's canopy and whatever they managed to piece together from the materials that they found in the forest. And just to add to their troubles, it was getting colder by the hour.

Kakashi did his best to keep the girl warm…but this was proving to be a difficult task. No sooner would he pull the cover back up to where it should be, she would unconsciously push it back down. He simply sighed and laughed inwardly to himself. He found her to be just as stubborn as the rest of his team. Not to mention, it kind of cute the way she crinkled her nose up when the cover got too close to it…but that was a little detail that he thought best to keep to himself. He also tended to her fever throughout the night by replenishing the cloth that lay upon her forehead with the cold water that Sakura fetched from a nearby stream.

The unconscious girl tossed and turned all night. _Don't worry. I think you're just about over the worst part._ Kakashi thought as he brushed the few strands of loose hair from her eyes. It was at 

that moment that she let out a soft moan and slowly opened her eyes. A little stunned, Kakashi quickly pulled his hand away. After recomposing himself, he whispered, "Welcome back."

Trying to focus on the masked face that now loomed over her, she weakly asked, "Who _are_ you?"

"My name is Kakashi. What's your's?"

"Maggie," she softly answered before drifting back into a deep sleep.

**A/N: **_Woo-hoo! Another chapter DONE! (does happy dance) Hope it helped to answer some of your questions…not to mention help to create some new ones, too! Otherwise, how else could I get ya to read the next chapter?! (gives a sly wink) ;)_

_Again, please read and review! If you have any suggestions, I'm open to them! :) Also, if you find fault in anything that I write, please criticize constructively. :)_


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